Editor’s Note: This post is from the original Genderplayful Community Blog, back when we were also a marketplace.

Hey everyone! If, like me, you are currently trying to wrestle your way through one of the worst travel days in the USA, I wish you the very best of luck. If you are not, congratulations, and I hope your day is wonderful, and not full of overcrowded train cars and smashed toes.

Why unacceptable (for someone like me to wear women’s clothes ? Modeling for the store is helping my granddaughter and I have nothing to lose. We were very happy on the day of the shooting. I’m very old and all that I care about is to be happy[.]

Editor’s Note: This post is from the original Genderplayful Community Blog, back when we were also a marketplace.

Today I’m bringing you an interview with Alex, the talent behind One Raven Knits here on Genderplayful. Alex makes hand-felted hats and uses needle felting to cover them in swirling, organic patterns.

I asked Alex a few questions about One Raven Knits and about coming to Genderplayful:

Could you please tell us a bit about yourself and how you came to Genderplayful?
I live on the Massachusetts/ Connecticut border in the northeast United States with my wife and our dog. My passions are reading fantasy and science fiction novels, knitting, and watching British television. I’m a queer, atheist, introverted, geeky couch potato!

I heard about Genderplayful via tumblr early on when the project was being funded on Kickstarter. The mailing list kept me in the loop on Genderplayful’s progress, and when the site was up, I joined as a seller.

Why did you decide to go into business making hats? How did you learn to make them?
Making and selling hats is a hobby rather than a business for me. I hope this will change in the future.

I used to sell felted hats and other knit items on etsy, but I much prefer Genderplayful Marketplace’s philosophy.

I’m working on perfecting patterns for items other than hats. I want to craft inexpensive breast forms and packers for people who can’t afford — or don’t always need — expensive silicone prosthetics. As you can imagine, getting these products correct in size, look, and feel takes a lot of trial and error. Prototype felt breasts are scattered all over my house!

I’ve been knitting since 2004, when I taught myself because I wanted a Ravenclaw scarf in proper book colors. I learned to felt a few years later using online tutorials and kits from craft fairs and etsy sellers.

I prefer to create accessories rather than garments. They knit up quickly and are easy to vary in style and fit. Hats are perfect canvases for displaying the color and design possibilities in felt.

Do you have any fashion or style inspirations you’d like to share?

I’m not a very fashionable person — my uniform is a t-shirt and jeans — but I do have a background in the visual arts. It think this may be why I took to felting — felt projects can become wearable sculptures. Working with felt feels similar to working in paint or clay; it is a very malleable and forgiving medium.

Do you have any gender philosophies or inspirations you’d like to share?

Gender is also a malleable and forgiving medium.

Thanks for the interview, Alex!

I actually ened up buying one of Alex’s hats the every first time I signed on to Genderplayful. I was drawn to Alex’s work for two reasons: One, I love how the process of needle felting adds texture to the surface of the hat, making the swirls of color look like they’ve been embossed into the hat’s fabric.

Look at that texture. So cool.

And two, I love anything that lets me pick my own colors! I bought a hat in blue, black and green (to match my custom Converse) and after exchanging a few hex codes to make sure the color was just right, here is a process shot I got in my email:

And here’s the hat in action, saving me from freezing as the East Coast gets colder:

Editor’s Note: This post is from the original Genderplayful Community Blog, back when we were also a marketplace.

Hey all!

I’ve been to ground for a little while for a funeral and also an engagement (otherwise known as a whirlwind of emotion from all sides). Now Hurricane Sandy has arrived in Brooklyn, and my partner and I are hunkered down trying to squeeze the last little bits of internet access out of our computers before we lose power. If you’re in the same boat, here are some links! If you’re not in the path of the hurricane, hopefully these will prove a pleasant diversion for a Monday afternoon.

- Here’s an oldie but goodie from the Hairpin’s Scandals of Classic Hollywood series about Marlene Dietrich, including some really interesting thoughts about her gender presentation, as well as this gorgeous photo:

Editor’s Note: This post is from the original Genderplayful Community Blog, back when we were also a marketplace.

Hey all!

I am way more excited about writing 10 11 12 in the title of this post than I should be.

Here’s a quick round-up of some links of interest that have passed my dashboard this week (though some of the links are older). This post style is unabashedly stolen from the Skepchick Quickies.

- Gaultier’s new collection for Paris Fashion Week has a few interesting plays on the tailored suit; the shot that stood out to me is included below. The entire collection is full of interesting plays on androgyny, including garments that blend typically masculine and feminine silhouettes together, and a lot of models and outfits that avoid sensuality in favor of over-the-top color and styles.

Editor’s Note: This post is from the original Genderplayful Community Blog, back when we were also a marketplace.

Hi everyone!

I’m Sara Eileen, and I’ve just joined Genderplayful as a new blog editor. (We’re still looking for a few more blog editors, by the way; would you like to join me? Please get in touch with us!)

To start, here’s a little bit about me. I’m a color-obsessed, texture-loving compulsive crafter with a love of things that glitter, counterbalanced by a strong attraction to simplicity and a streak of butch identity that I’m still figuring out. I love layering different textures in the same color, mixing bright patterns together, wearing (and making) accessories, and I occasionally show up to places in sky-high leather heels. But then, I also spend a lot of my life in the same dark jeans, oversized button-front shirt and black motorcycle boots.

Photos!

Accessorizing:

As a present to myself for my birthday last year, I ordered custom-color Converse sneakers, which is very easy to do and only a little more expensive than buying new, unmodified Converse: